Dead Man Walking is the first of three Met premieres presented this

season. The story is adapted from Sister Helen Prejean’s haunting

memoir about her fight for the soul of a condemned murderer, later

made a household name by the critically acclaimed film starring

Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon.

• The opera is by American composer Jake Heggie, with a libretto

by Tony and Emmy Award–winning playwright Terrence McNally.

Since its 2000 premiere, Heggie’s masterpiece has become the

most performed contemporary opera of the past 20 years.

• World-renowned, Grammy Award–winning mezzo-soprano

Joyce DiDonato stars as Sister Helen, alongside bass-baritone

Ryan McKinny as death-row inmate Joseph De Rocher, soprano

Latonia Moore as Sister Rose, and legendary mezzo-soprano

Susan Graham—who sang Helen Prejean in the opera’s world

premiere—as De Rocher’s mother. Met Music Director Yannick

Nézet-Séguin, a champion of new works, conducts.

• The new production is by Tony Award–winning director

Ivo van Hove (who makes his highly anticipated Met directorial

debut with Don Giovanni in 2023)